My Amazon Author’s Page Is Here!

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At long last I have taken the plunge and set up my author’s page on Amazon, http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00CEECWHY. I have intended to do this for some time but for some inexplicable reason put it off due to labouring under the misapprehension that it would be difficult.

The advantage to having an author’s page is that it allows readers to see all your content in one place (E.G. books, book reviews, biography etc). The lack of an author’s page may lead to people not knowing that you have produced several books as titles are scattered throughout Amazon with no golden thread to link them to the same author.

I have experienced one minor hiccup. My book, Samantha appears under the name K Morris while my collection of short stories, The First Time shows under my full name, Kevin Morris. As I’m registered with Amazon as K S Morris I’ve been able to add Samantha to my author’s page but not The First Time. I’ve emailed Amazon who will, I’m sure resolve the problem.

Self Printed: The Sane Persons Guide To Self Publishing by Catherine Ryan Howard

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I harbour a healthy scepticism regarding get rich quick schemes. You know the kind of scheme, buy my book or subscribe to my newsletter and I’ll show you how to become a millionaire in two shakes of a duck’s tail. I am pleased to report that Catherine Ryan Howard’s book, Self printed: The Sane Persons Guide to Self Publishing (see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Printed-Persons-Guide-Self-Publishing-Edition/dp/1478385545), does not fall into this category. Howard whitterly guides us through the world of self publishing in both it’s traditional printed form (she recommends using Create Space) and it’s younger sibling, Amazon Kindle ebooks. The author humorously warns against dreams of literary fame (a few self published authors, for example E L James) will shoot up the best sellers list and earn eye watering amounts of money, however James is very much the exception and not the rule. Self published authors can, however earn respectable sums if they expend care and attention on their work.

Howard sees the perceived conflict between traditional and self publishing as unhealthy. Both self publishing and it’s traditional counterpart can survive and what is right for one author is not, necessarily the correct option for another.

Howard’s book is well worth a read and I’d recommend it.

The Mysteries of Amazon

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I am, on the whole a big fan of Amazon. As a purchaser of ebooks I appreciate the sheer variety of Kindle content available. It is, quite simply mind boggling! From the point of view of an author I value the flexibility offered by Kindle Select which enables me to promote my books as free for 5 days in any 90 day period generating interest in my stories. However one aspect of Amazon which frustrates me is the way in which reviews posted in one country only appear in that jurisdiction. My book, Samantha recently received a 4 star review on amazon.co.uk which greatly boosted my sense of wellbeing when I read it. However on visiting amazon.com I noticed that Samantha showed as having no reviews. This is, to my mind bizarre. As a bit of a simpleton I would have thought that as Samantha is available world-wide reviews provided on one Amazon site should show up on all other sites. The same content is available globally so why can not the reviews show up world-wide? Reviews can be a factor in determining whether an interested browser turns into a book purchaser and anyone visiting amazon.com would not be aware that my book had been reviewed in the UK which could mean the difference between selling (or not selling) a copy. I would be interested to hear your views. Kevin

My page on Reddit

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I have set up a Reddit account. You can find my content by going to http://www.reddit.com/user/newauthoronline. I hate the fact that each time one posts on Reddit it is necessary to solve a visual Captcha and there is no audio or other alternative to the dratted thing!

Review of Stolen Girl by Katie Taylor and Veronica Clark

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I have just finished reading Stolen Girl by Katie Taylor and Veronica Clarke, http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AWR8RL0?ie=UTF8&ref_=oce_digital. The book relates the true story of how 13-year-old Katie Taylor is groomed by a paedophile gang and systematically raped and used as the gang’s sex toy. The book opens with Katie trick or treating with her brother Andrew and her father at the age of 10, however this innocent pastime is replaced only two years later by horrific sexual abuse.

Katie is bullied at school and has a low opinion of herself making her an easy target for the paedophile group lead by Zeb. Zeb and the other men who abuse Katie ply her with alcohol and drugs to loosen her inhibitions. They claim to love Katie but their sole aim is to sexually abuse her. The final straw comes when Zeb asks the 15-year-old Katie to become a prostitute (thus far she hasn’t received money but Katie has, as mentioned above been plied with drugs and alcohol). Katie is so shocked and frightened by the suggestion that she confides in her school’s councillor who alerts the police. Following a wait of 2 years the 18-year-old Katie sees Zeb and several other of the gang’s members sentenced to long terms of imprisonment, however she is bitter that a number of the men who abused her are found not guilty.

The book raises two sensitive issues, that of paedophilia and Asian sex gangs. While stating that the majority of Asians deplore the sexual abuse of children the authors make it clear that all of the men who abused Katie where of Asian origin. Katie’s story is horrific and is wholly credible. However we should, if that is possible put her experience into context. Most Asian men do not abuse children and (as the authors acknowledge) are horrified by paedophilia. Also it should be borne in mind that the ongoing investigations into allegations of child abuse surrounding the late Sir Jimmy Savile relate primarily if not exclusively to alegations made against white European males. The bottom line is that people of all races commit acts of paedophilia and they should be condemned irrespective of their ethnic origin. I recommend this book.

And they all lived happily ever after

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In February 2013 I published Samantha which tells the story of a young girl forced into prostitution by Barry, a brutal pimp in the city of Liverpool. Sam meets Peter and the two of them are soon besotted with one another, however Sam feels that she can not confide in her lover that she is, in effect a sex slave. The revealing of Sam’s secret life near the end of the book leads to profound consequences for all concerned.

In a 4 star review of Samantha a reviewer writes

“Some of the strands haven’t been tied up at the end and maybe that’s just what the author intended”, (see http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B00BL3CNHI/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1). The reviewer is right, that is precisely what I intended. It would have been easy to write an ending in which Samantha and Peter walk off hand in hand into the sunset to live happily ever after. It would have been easy but it would not have been credible. Sam has lied to Peter by telling him that she works as a nurse. He is, quite naturally angry and upset when he discovers the truth. Any hope of a relationship between Sam and Peter is dependent on them rebuilding trust, perhaps this is possible, perhaps not. The truth is I don’t, as the author of Samantha know the answer to that question hence the “loose ends”! Life is not a fairy tale. It is messy and complex and the ending of Samantha reflects this fact.

 

New Poetry Blog

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Yesterday I discovered a new poetry blog which I recommend http://emilyspoetryblog.com/. The blogger quotes poems and goes on to provide her own analysis. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Emily Bronte’s The Night Wind and W H Auden’s Time Will Say nothing.

Kevin

Pretty Woman?

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In December 2012 I published The First Time, a collection of short stories. The main story, The First Time deals with Becky, a young graduate who enters the world of prostitution as a professional escort in order to pay off her credit card bill. I explore the consequences of Becky’s decision both for Becky and her fellow escort and friend Julie.

As with Becky the young student (I’m not sure whether this should be former student), Emma Gould enters the sex industry due to running up a large debt. However Emma’s story is fact while The First Time is fictional albeit based on extensive research into the world of sex work. With Becky it is her taste for the good things in life (expensive consumables and pricey restaurants) which cause her to enter into debt. In Emma’s case her problems stem from an addiction to alcohol.

The First Time deals with the world of outcall escorting (I.E. where a client pays for the escort to visit him (or her) in their home or hotel room. Escorting is, on the whole safe as escorts or their agencies check out via the phone book that people are who they claim to be prior to a sex worker visiting them. In contrast Emma Gould prostituted herself on the street which poses far more dangers. Street prostitutes are subject to far more acts of violence and, sadly, in some instances death than are outcall escorts. Emma survived to relate her experiences in the Daily Mail but many others haven’t.

For the article on Emma Gould please visit http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2307253/Pretty-student-Emma-Gould-admits-turning-prostitution-help-fund-alcohol-addiction.html. For my book, The First Time please see http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-First-Time-ebook/dp/B00AIK0DD6. For a review of my latest book, Samantha which tells the story of a young girl forced into prostitution in the city of Liverpool please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B00BL3CNHI/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Launch of New Ebook Service

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The founder of the book shop Waterstones, Tim Waterstone, is launching a new service, Read Petite which will allow subscribers to read serialised novels and short stories on their mobiles and other mobile devices. Healthy competition in the world of ebooks can only be a good thing and it will be interesting to see how Read Petite competes with big players such as Amazon and Apple. For more on the story please visit http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2307354/Dickens-goes-digital-Waterstones-founder-revives-serialised-novels-e-book-store-Read-Petite.html